Trestman, Emery embracing Bears' big expectations

Car by car, Chicago Bears players drove onto the campus of Olivet Nazarene University on Wednesday to report to training camp. SUVs followed by pick-up trucks followed by, yes, Jay Cutler’s minivan.

Wait ... correction ...

“It’s not a minivan,” Cutler asserted. “It’s a conversion van.”

Pool. Pond. Either way, the starting quarterback and adjusting father of two will headline the Bears’ three-week stay in Bourbonnais during a camp that promises to be loaded with competition and intriguing storylines.

The first practice won’t begin until Friday morning at 9 a.m. And the pads won’t come on until Sunday. But on Wednesday afternoon, general manager Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman met the media for a 55-minute press conference, addressing position battles and expectations and expressing eagerness to get back on the field.

Here are six notable quotes to come out of that session.

Trestman on the heightening expectations of the Bears as a playoff contender …

“We have a lot of expectations for our football team. But we take care of them by the day-to-day workmanlike process of going through training camp and building our football team. I think that’s really important. With our guys, past performance is no indication of where we’re going. We want to be the best in all three phases and we want to be the best team we can possibly be. … We want the expectations. We have high expectations. Our players have said it. Our players feel it. But at the end of the day they know they’ve got to go to work and get it done. It’s not going to happen because we think it’s going to happen. The work has got to take place. So we’ve got a 30-day competition for our 53-man roster.”

Emery on the realistic expectations coming off an 8-8 season …

“We have two goals in this organization. One is individual excellence in your role and using what you develop in terms of excellence in unselfishly committing yourself to the organizational goal of winning championships. That’s our goal. We’re not going to apologize for it. That’s our goal. Our goal as an organization is to win championships. We have fallen short since I’ve been here. That doesn’t mean we’re going to change our goal. That’s what we’re focused on. We’re very aggressive toward attaining that goal. We’re very accountable as an organization to make the necessary adjustments to stay on path toward our goal. That’s what our goal is.”

Trestman on why he’s felt so comfortable with quarterback Jay Cutler’s evolution as a leader …

“I think it’s just the day-to-day involvement with the team, concern for his teammates, communication that he has with them and the work he’s done with them to try and help them along and mentor some of the younger guys and do those types of things. I don’t think there’s any one thing. I just think he’s gone about carrying himself like a quarterback should in this league, walking around the building connecting with people throughout the building. And then the work ethic and the time you put into the football side of it is critically important. The quarterback, he doesn’t have to necessarily be the hardest working player on the team, but he’s got to work as hard as any player on the team. … And he has. He’s put in the time, not only with Xs and Os but other aspects that go into being a quarterback of a National Football League franchise. I think he’s done it well. Now, we’ve got to take that and turn into performance on a consistent and a regular basis. That’s part of the challenge and excitement of going into training camp.”

Trestman on whether he worries about his offense entering training camp with too much confidence after what they produced last season …

“I’m not worried about anything because of the perspective I think we have. We have a smart group of guys. They know what’s on paper and they know the talent level that we have offensively, but they also know that they’ve got to work. They’ve got to not just put in the time, but they’ve got to focus in and put in the time and be specific and get better at their work. There are a lot of teams around this league that have studied our offense, too. They’re getting ready for us. And for us to get ready for them, we’ve got to go to work everyday and build from, not necessarily where we were a year ago, but essentially start over. We’ve got to take the mindset that, ‘We’re starting over.’ What we did (last season) is not necessarily indicative of where we’re going. It gives us an idea of what we can become. But it starts with work and focusing and keeping our feet on the ground and not getting ahead of ourselves. It’s not just something I’m saying to them. I hear them saying it to each other. And that’s a really good sign.”

Emery on what he liked about quarterback Jimmy Clausen when he scouted him …

“Jimmy made a lot of progress between his last year and his second-to-last year in college in terms of his overall accuracy, his deep ball. I think he grew from a leadership perspective. I think his focus grew. He always showed me he could be creative and make some plays on his own. I don’t think mobility is his biggest asset but I definitely saw a player that knows how to get out of the way and get the ball off in time, and a mentally tough player that will take a hit to deliver the ball with accuracy and precision. I really like how he came in here. He’s got a little chip on his shoulder right now. He wants to re-prove himself or prove himself and he’s very focused. He came in here and got Jay on the phone right away and … they spent the whole weekend together learning the playbook so that (Jimmy) had the best opportunity to stick with the team after the vet mini-camp. That determination, the literal picture is he squared his jaw and got to work. And that is what I like about him. He’s got a certain mental toughness and intelligence and he showed his accuracy and he showed his release quickness.”

Trestman on whether there are any pitfalls for second-year linebacker Jon Bostic in working at both middle and strongside linebacker during camp …

“I think it’s an ongoing process. We’re going to continue to move Jon around. It’s early, we’re going to continue to do that. He’s in a fight to be the middle linebacker with D.J. (Williams). He’s starting going into practice on Friday at (middle linebacker) and nickel. … And he’s in a competition with Shea (McClellin) as well so at this point there’s no concern. I’ve talked to Jon about this. He readily understands the situation and we’re trying to do what’s best for the team and right now it’s to continue to move him around and take into consideration a lot of different things can happen throughout camp and through the season so he’s ready to go. And we’re comfortable with that and we communicate with him on a daily basis in that regard.”